Cries for Democracy in Iran
Huffington Post / Reza Pahlavi
27-Oct-2009 (5 comments)

This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Thirty years ago, Ruhollah Khomeini returned to Iran from exile to found a totalitarian theocracy -- the likes of which we have not seen for hundreds of years, perhaps even since medieval Europe. Thirty years ago, Iranian militants took American embassy workers hostage. Thirty years ago was the last time I saw Iran. To this day, I have not been able to return.

In 1979, the new Iranian clerical regime promised the Iranian people a republic. By definition, a "republic" is a state in which the supreme power rests in the body of its citizens. But in the last thirty years, Iranians have experienced an archaic system of theocracy tyrannically take hold.

The struggle in Iran today is about human rights and democracy. The struggle is not about the moderate camp versus the radical camp, rather it pits the forces of state despotism and religious fundamentalism against a nation that demands democracy, rejects military fundamentalists and repudiates the concept of a Supreme Leader. The issue in Iran is not which faction of the Islamic Republic can meet the demands of the Iranian people, but rather what system other than a self-appointed theocratic dictatorship can save Iran.

Every night, the brave sons and daughters of Iran shout from their rooftops for freedom. We know the day will come when those cries are answered, when the system of governance in Iran is one that belon... >>>

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Shah Ghollam

He will

by Shah Ghollam on Wed Oct 28, 2009 10:07 AM PDT

My advice to Reza is to renounce any claim to the throne, and join our people's unequivocal call for a democratic system with no unelected official at the top. And the same goes for the "reformists" in this system- Khatami Karroubi Moussavi Rafsanjani and whoever should just come out and say that Velayat Faqih is wrong, and religion should be out of politics.

He will, in a few years when he gets closer to his 60th birthday, when he knows for sure he will not be the next king of Iran


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benross

Referendum

by benross on Tue Oct 27, 2009 07:20 PM PDT

The current option for Iranian people is between IRI constitution and constitutional monarchy. Non of us has the authority to offer anything other than what our history offers us. We should have grabbed the opportunity when Bakhtiar was the prime minister but we failed. For now, none of us can speak on behalf of Iranian people. Only on behalf of ourselves and what our struggle for modernity in Iranian history has documented for us.

The real debate about the social system will start after ending IRI and in a free Iran where this debate can actually happen and lead to a constituent assembly for defining the future system of Iran.


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Fair

He is welcome to call for democracy

by Fair on Tue Oct 27, 2009 01:13 PM PDT

as is any Iranian. I don't see why if we can accept a Khatami or Moussavi or Karroubi calling for change (all of these people were full participants in the establishment and support of theocracy with velayat-e-faghih at the top), we cannot accept this person's call for change, who had absolutely no responsibility in his father's government. He was just a kid that tagged along during ceremonies.

If we are going to be open minded, we should be open minded in both directions.

That being said, it would help his image tremendously if he just stood up and condemned the mistakes of the past instead of just saying that that was the past. My advice to Reza is to renounce any claim to the throne, and join our people's unequivocal call for a democratic system with no unelected official at the top. And the same goes for the "reformists" in this system- Khatami Karroubi Moussavi Rafsanjani and whoever should just come out and say that Velayat Faqih is wrong, and religion should be out of politics. Unequivocally. Kind of like Montazeri did (at least for VF being wrong).

In other words, let's please be

 

FAIR


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farokh2000

He has not heard of SAVAK?

by farokh2000 on Tue Oct 27, 2009 09:43 AM PDT

It is very interesting that this man has such a short memory.

His criminal Father had one of the deadliest secret service,  trained by CIA's best.

Now he is looking for "Democracy"!?

The only difference between these criminals and his criminal Father is that they are doing it in the name of "Religion" and killing even more than his Dad did.

Otherwise, they are both coming from the same School.

It was just a different version of savage Dictatorship.


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seannewyork

Democracy

by seannewyork on Tue Oct 27, 2009 08:03 AM PDT

Interesting.


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